Covid-battered Britons admit they are ready for data tracking in pandemic battle

This openness, however, is not reflected in downloads of the government’s virus-tracking app

The vaccination center at the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, Britain. Reuters

A nurse treats Covid-19 patients in the ICU at Milton Keynes University Hospital. Reuters

Pharmacy staff members prepare vaccines at STEAM Museum in Swindon. Reuters

Members of the public arrive at a vaccination centre set up at an Odeon cinema complex in Aylesbury. AFP

A woman wearing a mask feeds Rose-ringed parakeets in Kensington Gardens, London. AP Photo

Ambulance staff clean an ambulance outside the Royal London hospital. EPA

Nuns sing at the St Anthony's convent of Mercy Tunstall during the Clap for Heroes campaign in Sunderland. Reuters

Elizabeth Van Tam, the mother of Jonathan Van-Tam, Britain's Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, receives a vaccine at the the Jenner Health Centre in Whittlesey. Reuters

People rest in the waiting area after receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a vaccination centre in Salisbury Cathedral. EPA

People in the UK say they are willing to use privacy-encroaching tracking technology to fight the pandemic, but at the same time they are resistant to signing up to the government's Covid app.
More than two-thirds of respondents were open to smartphone tracking apps as a way of managing social distance requirements.
The study, published in the journal Plos One, also found support for immunity passports to help lift lockdown orders.
But the openness to allowing data tracking is not backed up by downloads of the National Health Service's Test and Trace app.
"Attitudes were surprisingly permissive and this is good news for public health," said lead author Stephan Lewandowsky, a professor at the University of Bristol.

They are willing to make compromises perhaps for the greater good

"But there appears to be a significant gap between what people say they're willing to do and what they actually do, which needs further investigation.
"Lack of uptake is a big problem because such systems need more than half - 56 per cent - of the general population on board to be effective in helping control a pandemic.
"As of the end of last month, nearly 21 million people in the UK had downloaded the app, which is more than 10 million below target for it to work properly."

The NHS Test and Trace app, a decentralised tool relying on Google and Apple Bluetooth technology, was introduced in September 2020.

An alert on the official NHS Covid-19 Test and Trace app informing the user to quarantine for one day. Getty

The study was released as the European Union and the UK try to balance privacy rights against the benefits of tracking.
The balancing act is also being played out in proposed laws that some national governments want to impose on data-loving tech giants

The study's research included two online surveys with more than 3,500 respondents.
In both surveys, the levels of acceptance for using apps that tracked data were broadly the same.
Around 70 per cent of respondents accepted the concept of an opt-in app and 65 per cent accepted the idea of a mandatory app with tighter enforcement.

When a sunset clause was introduced, resulting in all data being deleted after two weeks, acceptance levels for both scenarios rose to more than 75 per cent.
Acceptance increased to more than 85 per cent when, on top of the time limit, an opt-out clause was provided.

“The fact respondents were very receptive and open to such tools should be encouraging and indicates while people don't want to throw away their privacy, they are willing to make compromises perhaps for the greater good," said Mr Lewandowsky.